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Match Jar

Yesterday was Victoria Day here in Canada, the first long weekend of summer and the un-official start to all summer activities, like barbecuing, gardening and camping. I thought it might be fun to share this little camping hack idea with you today. It’s super easy, but also super practical.

When I was a little girl, we had a trailer in the woods, and almost every weekend of the summer we made the two-hour car ride to sit by the campfire, swim in the lake and hike in the woods at our little family get-away. There was no electricity, no water, and no indoor plumbing. But, we loved it that way. We had a little gas stove in the trailer, but unless it was raining, my Dad pretty much always had a campfire going. For those rainy days, or at night when we needed to light the lanterns, we had a match jar. It sat by the stove in the trailer, and always provided dry matches, and a place to strike them. It was a little thing, but like most great life hacks, it sure made life easy when you needed to light a match.

I recently accidentally left a box of matches out on our deck over night, and the dew ruined the cardboard box, it got me thinking that I should throw out the old wrecked box, and make myself a match jar. Here’s how I did it.

You need:

matches

a mason jar

sandpaper

cardboard

All you need to do is use your jar top to trace out a circle on your sandpaper, and then again on the cardboard, and cut them out.

Place your matches in the jar, insert the sandpaper circle into the lid of the mason jar, and then back it with the cardboard to give it a little support. You might need a drop of glue, if it isn’t a snug fit.

Next time you need to light a match, use the sandpaper lid as your striking surface. The jar will keep your matches nice and dry, perfect for camping, or even just around the house.